7/10/14

listening to | James Blake

I might be a little late to the game with this one but holy James Blake. I first heard his song "Retrograde" play during the new show on HBO called The Leftovers, which is also amazing by the way! After hearing the song, I immediately bought his album "Overgrown" that came out in 2013, and listened to it straight through while traveling last week. There are some amazing tracks on the album but what really pulls me in are his vocals. It's insane that the deep, rich, soul wrecking sound can come from someone so innocent looking. The title track on the album and "Retrograde" shows off his incredible musicianship so well. The whole album is produced so that you're really able to hear the pure emotion and talent.

One of my favorite tracks is "Take a Fall For Me". You may not guess this, but along with heavy music, I also LOVE rap music. James Blake reached out to RZA, a producer and rapper and a leader of the Wu Tang Clan to create this song and it is incredible. The lyrics and the way they married the two styles of music together is flawless. I have come to learn more about James, his life, his style, and his music through reading/watching various interviews. He has this attitude about him that exudes confidence and he certainly doesn't care what anyone else thinks about what he is doing with his music. He is passionate about what he loves and I hope he continues to create the music that he feels he should. There's so much talent coming from such a young guy.